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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28133469">It's a Kid's World - Season Two</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesofInterest/pseuds/TalesofInterest'>TalesofInterest</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Loud House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Apocalypse, Coming of Age, Dystopia, Fanfiction, Gen, Inspired by Game of Thrones, Inspired by Lord of the Flies, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Power Imbalance, Power Play, Zombie Apocalypse, the big vanish, the human harvest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:42:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28133469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesofInterest/pseuds/TalesofInterest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Loud children and the other kids continue to fight for survival in a new hostile world that the adults left behind. Lincoln and Lucy run into some old friends, while Ronnie Anne seeks to find allies of her own. Luan and the other sisters roam the land simply to find a place to settle, while Lynn runs into trouble as usual. But there's danger for everyone at every turn.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Ring of Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"RUN!" Lincoln shouted.</p><p>Lincoln and Lucy leaped from where they stood and made a frantic attempt to escape as the fearsome leader of the dead continued to point in their direction, prompting his minions to pursue the two siblings. Scared and alone, Lincoln and Lucy used their fear and adrenaline to push forward and ignore the fatigue that was affecting their bodies.</p><p>Lucy then fell over and hit the ground hard. Lincoln quickly saw this and immediately turned back to extend his hand out to his sister, helping her up. They had to do this quickly as the undead were close behind them.</p><p>The two ran for quite some time, but eventually their bodies were completely drained of energy, and the effect of their fear-fuelled adrenaline rush wore off. The two stopped in their tracks and began to breathe heavily.</p><p>"Sigh. They're still coming!" Lucy muttered as they still heard the zombies pursuing them.</p><p>"Don't those things ever get tired?!" Lincoln desperately asked.</p><p>"I can't move any further!" Lucy admitted.</p><p>"Me too!" Lincoln replied.</p><p>The two then spotted a bush and decided that, given their desperate situation, they would jump into it and hope the zombies wouldn't spot them inside. They quickly leaped into the leafy structure just before the zombies could catch up with them. Once the undead did reach the area, they stopped in their tracks.</p><p>Lincoln and Lucy looked on from inside the bush in silent fear and terror as the zombies scanned around, afraid they had somehow sensed their presence. One of the zombies looked right at the bush, and was effectively staring the two Loud children square in the face. The two siblings held each other's hands as they waited for the zombie to realise they were there and tear them limb from limb. They closed their eyes and waited for the worst.</p><p>Then a few thuds and slashes were suddenly heard.</p><p>Lincoln and Lucy reopened their eyes to see none other than the latter's friend and former club leader…</p><p>"Bertrand?!" a surprised Lucy asked as she poked her head out of the bush.</p><p>"Yes, I have returned. Given my parents are no longer here, I've made my way back to Royal Woods, only to find out my allies have formed a guard of sorts against these undead things." he said as he stood amongst a trio of zombies he had just slaughtered.</p><p>"Quickly, we must get out of here! There's more of them!" Lucy warned.</p><p>"I know, come with me!" Bertrand ordered.</p><p>"Where are we going?" asked Lincoln as he also poked his head out of the bush.</p><p>"Ugh, fine! Your brother can come, too. Now follow me!" Bertrand said.</p><p>The three kids then continued to quickly make their way out of the depths of the woods, but they could hear more of them coming.</p><p>Suddenly, one of them launched itself from out of nowhere and pounced on top of Lincoln.</p><p>"ARGH!" he screamed as it prepared to bite his face off.</p><p>Bertrand then quickly took out his dagger and struck it in the head, destroying it.</p><p>"Thanks." Lincoln said as he was helped up to his feet.</p><p>Three more zombies then ascended from the darkness and ran towards the kids. Bertrand had his weapon in hand, but it was only so effective.</p><p>"GO!" Bertrand commanded.</p><p>"No! We can't just leave you!" Lucy argued.</p><p>"I'll hold them off." Bertrand said as he tried to keep them back with his dagger.</p><p>"But…" Lincoln tried to say.</p><p>"According to the message I received from the others, they're hanging out at a grave site just outside of this place. NOW GO!" he demanded as he struggled to keep the attackers at bay.</p><p>One of the zombies then knocked the weapon out of his hand before the others jumped at him, taking him to the ground and continuing their vicious attack.</p><p>Lincoln and Lucy then made a run for it as the zombies were distracted with the other boy, who had made a noble sacrifice for them…</p><hr/><p>By the following morning, Luan and the other younger sisters had made their way out of the area. Though tired, the girls knew they had to keep moving…</p><p>"My feet ache." Lola grumbled, having walked non-stop all night.</p><p>"Yeah? Well my ears ache having to listen to your whining." Lana responded.</p><p>"And my brain aches having to tolerate two juvenile children engaging in immature prattling while we deal with a serious matter!" Lisa told them both.</p><p>"Just stop it, alright?!" Luan cried in frustration.</p><p>"She started it!" Lana shouted as she pointed at Lola.</p><p>"I don't care! Look, if we're going to survive out here by ourselves then we need to stop acting like children." Luan told them.</p><p>"But we are children!" Lola argued.</p><p>"I know, everyone is, but that's not the point. Whether we like it or not, we need to be more mature and responsible. That includes me." Luan said.</p><p>The twins, Lisa and Lily all lowered their heads as they came to the same sad realisation. Their days as innocent children had to be put behind them…</p><p>"Anyway, we should come across some kind of town or city anytime now…" Luan said to herself as she looked around.</p><p>"May I suggest we take a detour?" Lisa asked.</p><p>"Why?" Luan replied.</p><p>Lisa then simply pointed at the site she could see in the distance up ahead. It was a radioactive wasteland filled with remains of a power plant.</p><p>"What's that?" asked Lana.</p><p>"That is a power plant that exploded, no doubt a result of all the adults disappearing in the middle of a delicate process for the facility. Even though the plant was many miles away, judging from the distance, the radiation is still deadly. I suggest we don't approach any closer." Lisa explained.</p><p>"Are there sites like this all over the place?" Luan asked.</p><p>"Not necessarily. Some plants probably only shut down without expert adult maintenance. It all depends on what was occurring inside them at the time." Lisa said.</p><p>The siblings then took a moment to gaze at the remaining destruction from afar. Looking at the debris and mess that was in their sights caused a mutual sense of loss and sadness amongst them. It was reflective of the kind of world that had been left behind by 'The Big Vanish'.</p><p>A realm of chaos and ruin, dangerous for everyone within it.</p><p>"It's… sad." Lisa quietly said to herself.</p><p>"I guess we didn't really appreciate just what grown-ups did for us, huh?" Lola reflectively stated.</p><p>"Let's keep going." Luan said as she started to walk in a different direction, away from the radioactive area.</p><hr/><p>Finally, after a whole morning, Lincoln and Lucy had made it out of the woods and to their intended destination…</p><p>"That's the last time I roam into the woods with you." Lucy said.</p><p>"I said I was sorry." Lincoln insisted.</p><p>"I told you to turn left when we got to the old crooked oak tree, but you told me we should turn right. We've ended up circling the entire forest about three times over, it seems." Lucy griped.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, it doesn't matter. We're out of the woods now! The worst is over!" Lincoln responded.</p><p>"Unless they've followed us out of the forest." Lucy said.</p><p>"Let's not think about it." Lincoln suggested.</p><p>The two siblings then caught sight of the grave site Bertrand had told them about the previous night.</p><p>"We're here." Lucy said.</p><p>"Okay, I'll bite. Where are your friends, Lucy? All I'm seeing are a bunch of creepy looking gravestones!" Lincoln said.</p><p>"Wait…" she said, before beginning to knock on one of the gravestones.</p><p>"What are you doing?" asked Lincoln.</p><p>Lucy ignored the question and continued with the strange knocking sequence onto the piece of stone. After a moment, she stopped.</p><p>"What was that?" he asked, still confused as to what she was up to.</p><p>"That was a secret greeting, similar to a best friends handshake." Lucy stated.</p><p>Sure enough, after saying that, her friends appeared from behind the gravestones, like they did before with Clyde's gang.</p><p>"AGHH!" Lincoln screamed in terror as the creepy kids surprised him.</p><p>"Welcome, Lucy." Haiku greeted.</p><p>"We've been waiting for you for quite some time." Morpheus followed.</p><p>"I am here. I hope you will be generous enough to take in my brother as well." Lucy said.</p><p>"Sure. We've already taken in a few other new recruits. What harm is one more?" Haiku rhetorically asked.</p><p>"Huh?" Lincoln questioned to himself, wondering who else the young goth girl was referring to.</p><p>"Hey." called a familiar voice.</p><p>Lincoln turned around to find himself in shock as he saw all his friends; Clyde, Liam, Rusty and so on, all visually transformed from their good old selves, now resembling the dark and gothic dress style of their fellow Mortician's Guard members.</p><p>"Wow! You guys look, erm…" Lincoln nervously tried to say.</p><p>"Creepy? Yeah, I know." Rusty admitted.</p><p>"But the look kinda grows on you." Liam indifferently put it.</p><p>"I like it." Rusty's brother Rocky said.</p><p>"Anyway, it's good to see you again, buddy." Clyde said as he and Lincoln shared a hug.</p><p>"Right back at you. But how did you guys end up joining the Mortician's Club?" Lincoln asked.</p><p>"They saved us from a bunch of zombies!" Clyde confirmed.</p><p>"You two, huh?" Lincoln replied, given he could relate to that.</p><p>"Also, we're no longer called a club. We now go by The Mortician's Guard." Stella explained.</p><p>"We actually serve to protect the local kids from the likes of those undead monsters." Zach said.</p><p>"Well, now my brother and I are here to help." Lucy stated.</p><p>"That's good news. I've also been in touch with our old leader, Bertrand. He'll be here soon to lead the charge." Haiku said.</p><p>"Um…" Lucy struggled to say.</p><p>"You might want to change your plans." Lincoln said for her.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Haiku asked.</p><p>"Bertrand was killed by the zombies last night. He saved us from them, but he sacrificed himself to do so." Lucy sadly explained to her friends.</p><p>All of the original Mortician's members then lowered their heads in utter sadness, as they all valued Bertrand as a close friend and leader figure.</p><p>"He will be missed, but he's in a better place now." Haiku said as she pointed at the ground.</p><p>"He'll fit right in down in the underworld." Lucy said.</p><p>"In a way, I'm actually a little happy for him to be down there." Haiku stated, which sounded more heart-warming in context.</p><p>"Anyway, I'm sure you two would like to get inside after spending all these hours out in the woods?" Stella asked the two Loud siblings.</p><p>"You could say that again." Lincoln confirmed.</p><p>"Very well. Let's make our way inside. There's a lot to do." Haiku said as everyone followed her back into the base.</p><p>"Lucy, how come you guys didn't build your base in the cemetery that's actually in Royal Woods rather than this one that's outside of it?" Lincoln curiously asked as they walked into the lair.</p><p>"This one is closer to the forest. My friends and I have been planning on observing and countering these dead creatures for a while now." Lucy said.</p><p>"You mean they've been here a while?" he asked.</p><p>"There have been sightings and speculations, but their presence has only been confirmed recently." Lucy explained.</p><hr/><p>Later that day, another of the Loud sisters had an alarming sight of her own to behold. Lynn, having been transported in a roller dumpster, all as part of a demeaning gag at her expense, peeked outside the lid to see she was being transported into a large stadium. Once inside, the arena itself was quite a sight. While it had no electric lighting, due to the lack of accessible power, there were massive fires in each corner of the arena, lighting up the whole interior of the building.</p><p>Hawk then opened the lid so he could quickly say a few words to his fighter…</p><p>"Alright, ponytail! We have some pretty high stakes bet on this fight, so you'd better perform!" Hawk demanded to the energetic Loud girl.</p><p>"And don't even think about throwing the fight just to spite us!" Hank warned her.</p><p>"Ha! Lynn Loud never throws a fight!" she proudly declared.</p><p>"Good, because if you do…" Hawk threatened.</p><p>"We're gonna rip off your face, and shove it up your junk pipe!" Hank finished.</p><p>Lynn then looked around and got a glimpse of the middle of the arena where the action would take place. Contrary to her expectations, all that was there was a bare dirt ground…</p><p>"Huh? What the heck is this?! Where's the ring?!" Lynn questioned.</p><p>"Oh, you'll see…" Hank teased.</p><p>"And now, we have a singles bout for the EWF Women's Championship! Entering the ring first, LIZZY 'THE TECHNICIAN' THOMPSON!" shouted the announcer as a small pre-teen girl, about Lincoln's size, walked out. She had long dark brown hair and was wearing a predominantly pink and white wrestling attire.</p><p>Her opponent, from Great Lakes City, the reigning, defending EWF Women's Champion of the World, BECKY THE BRUISER!" the announcer continued.</p><p>Becky, the little feisty blonde with the uni-brow, then came out wearing her familiar white, red and orange wrestling outfit.</p><p>"Hey Loud, HERE'S your ring!" Hawk told her as two young boys began to pour gasoline around the area the two girls were set to fight in.</p><p>One of the boys then lit a matchstick, stepped back, and tossed it on the ground, creating a literal ring of fire.</p><p>Lynn had a strange mix of fear and awe. While it was surprisingly more dangerous than she was expecting heading into the situation, she was still Lynn Loud Junior. Extreme competition is what she was all about.</p><p>"FIGHT!" the young male referee roared to the two girls.</p><p>As the two girls circled each other within the large ring of flame, Lynn looked around to see the crowd. There must have been over 1000 children in the seats around her. Pretty big for an unofficial event held by a literal bunch of kids.</p><p>As Lynn turned back around to face the action, she could see the young blonde girl Becky completely dominating her opponent, tossing her all over the place and applying brutal submission holds as the other girl struggled to fight back.</p><p>"So, am I facing the winner of this match?" Lynn asked.</p><p>"Oh, you're not on yet. You have to wait for the main event." Hank teased.</p><p>"Yeah, let's just say we put you in a fight above your weight class." Hawk said.</p><p>Lynn then grew a determined look on her face. Though obviously meant to intimidate her, Lynn insisted to herself she wasn't afraid of anyone. It wasn't the first time she punched above her weight, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.</p><hr/><p>The team of Ronnie Anne, Sid and the three tiger sisters had followed the mysterious hooded figure for miles and miles. They had travelled through the entire lower peninsula of Michigan in pursuit of this strange entity. Unsure and sceptical of their destination, the two girls began to have doubts.</p><p>"I'm <em>sooo</em> tired! Can we take a nap?" Sid asked as her fatigue got the better of her.</p><p>"I don't think we can. That guy ahead won't stop for us." Ronnie Anne said.</p><p>"Do we even know where he's taking us? Does HE even know where he's taking us?!" Sid questioned.</p><p>"I don't know. But we can't stop now! We're completely lost without him." Ronnie reminded her.</p><p>"I think I can remember the way back." Sid said.</p><p>"Really? Because I lost track hours ago." Ronnie admitted.</p><p>The two girls then ceased their chatter and looked ahead again to see that the mysterious figure was out of sight. What they could see, however, was the edge of the land. They had reached the upper edge of the lower peninsula, and came across Lake Michigan. What was there was a bridge with a sign next to it. The sign simply said 'ROAD TO NOWHERE'.</p><p>"I have a bad feeling about this." Sid said nervously.</p><p>"It's just a bridge… over some water." Ronnie insisted as she tried to downplay her sense of fear.</p><p>Just then, a crocodile leaped out of the water and tried to jump up and eat the two girls, performing a ferocious bite in the process. The three tigers growled back at the beast, but the two girls were not so fearless.</p><p>"*Gulp* I think we should head back." Sid encouraged fearfully.</p><p>"We've come all this way. We can't just turn back now!" Ronnie argued.</p><p>"But that old looking thing… it'll break! I don't trust it!" Sid said.</p><p>"We just need to be careful. We each go one at a time, keep several meters apart so too much weight doesn't get put on one part of the bridge. I'll go first, my girls will follow me, and then you trail along last." Ronnie instructed.</p><p>Ronnie Anne then took a leap of faith, placing her foot onto the bridge, testing its stability. To her friend's surprise and her relief, it remained intact. The three felines then followed their master.</p><p>"Come on, Sid. If we're going to make it in this world, we need to take a few chances!" Ronnie shouted to her friend, who still stood at the edge of the bridge.</p><p>Sid then uneasily stepped onto the bridge and cautiously followed the others, all of them keeping their distance from each other in the hopes that the structure beneath their feet would withstand them.</p><hr/><p>The first day on the job as the newly appointed personal servant of the ruler of the city was not all that glamorous or pleasant for the likes of Carl Casagrande. As the day came to an end, Carl began to grow tired of his new master's petty demands.</p><p>"Are these shiny enough for you, sir?" Carl asked his new boss.</p><p>"Yes, I think I'll tolerate it." Don Morito indifferently put it.</p><p>"What is your next job for me, sir?" Carl asked.</p><p>"That will be all for today." Don said.</p><p>"Really?" Carl asked.</p><p>"Well, I think shining my shoes, polishing my statues, scrubbing my dishes and mopping all the floors in this building is enough work for one day." Don recalled, amused by all the grunt work he made Carl do.</p><p>"I guess this means tomorrow I can finish early, huh?" Carl asked cheekily.</p><p>"Oh, not at all. I have plenty more for you to be doing. Tomorrow, you will get up early to sort out my garden. You see, there are some tedious weeds out there. I need you to deal with them." Don smugly told him.</p><p>Carl then grumbled to himself, dissatisfied with Don's treatment towards him.</p><p>"Ha, you should've seen the look on your face." Don said as he laughed.</p><p>"Huh?" Carl asked, confused.</p><p>"Don't worry about the garden. I was kidding for my amusement. I have professional gardeners for that. Oh no, I wouldn't expect my prestigious personal servant to waste his hours with weeds." Don explained.</p><p>"Oh, erm, thanks… I guess." Carl said in response.</p><p>"Do you know why I put you through all that hard graft today, boy? To teach you about humility. You may find that hypocritical, but I assure you, I haven't forgotten who I am." Don said.</p><p>"What do you mean? Who are you, then?" Carl asked.</p><p>"You probably think I see myself as some kind of big shot. I am the ringleader of the mafia, after all. I have my own throne room… and yet, I always remember what my father used to say to me. For all my power, I am still only one man, and not even a fully grown one. That last sentence is more relevant now than ever. I am as powerless as everyone else to this vanishing effect that makes us disappear at 16. As such, I need to look to the future. Think of not only myself, but the whole family. Family is something I was taught to hold dearly." Don explained.</p><p>"Most of my family disappeared. The family I have left is trapped by you! How can you blab on about family when you're holding mine in a cell?!" Carl angrily questioned his master.</p><p>"Actually, today your brothers spent their hours carving new weapons for my foot soldiers. Swords, shields, and so on. They found it quite interesting, or so I've been informed. Speaking of brothers, mine requires some attention. That's what I need you for." Don said.</p><p>"Wait, are you saying you want me to babysit your brother?" Carl asked.</p><p>"No, I'm giving you an order to take care of an important member of our organisation! Now enough with the questions! Remember your place, Casagrande!" Don commanded as he grew irritated with Carl's insubordination.</p><p>Carl then nodded in agreement with the demand, while underneath being frustrated with having to be a babysitter. Then again, it was probably less exhausting than the day he just had…</p><hr/><p>As Ronnie Anne and Sid continued to cross the bridge, and cautiously so, due to the instability of the structure and the mist that surrounded them, Ronnie stopped in her tracks as she came face to face with a vicious animal.</p><p>"A hog?! What's it doing on a bridge?!" Ronnie Anne asked.</p><p>"I don't know, but I'm glad I'm way back here!" Sid said.</p><p>"Fog, a bridge, and now an angry hog?! This is starting to seem an awful lot like a level from that dumb video game Lincoln plays!" Ronnie recalled.</p><p>"Hey, I know that game! Actually, it's pretty awesome!" Sid said.</p><p>"Eh, it's alright. Not quite in my top 20." Ronnie replied.</p><p>"Yeah, well right now, I'd be less interested in video games and more focused on not getting eaten alive by that thing!" Sid reminded her.</p><p>"Don't worry about it." Ronnie said calmly as she stood to the side and allowed enough room for one of her tigers to walk ahead towards the hog.</p><p>Knowing it was outmatched, the hog quickly ran for its life, terrified of the larger beast.</p><p>"Good girl, way to show that little dude who's boss!" Ronnie said as she stroked her pet as a reward for its assistance.</p><p>"The sooner we make it past this bridge, the better." Sid said as she sighed in relief, before the group kept moving.</p><p>"We should make it to the end soon. I hope so anyway, it's starting to get dark." Ronnie Anne said.</p><hr/><p>Lynn's time for combat was finally upon her. She witnessed first-hand how brutal it could get, as she saw two little girls carrying away Becky's unfortunate opponent on a stretcher, with the little blonde celebrating with her championship belt held high above her head earlier on.</p><p>A few matches had taken place since then, including tag team bouts and other match types. Finally, it was her turn.</p><p>"So, who am I going to take on?!" Lynn asked, eager to fight, ignoring the danger of the situation as always.</p><p>"Oh, you'll find out." Hawk said as Hank then picked up the girl and threw her into fighting area.</p><p>More gasoline had to be spilt on the floor as the fires had to be put out and reignited between each match.</p><p>"And now, we have a bout between two newcomers. First, we have the sports star of Royal Woods, LUNATIC LYNN!" the announcer said.</p><p>"Aw yeah! It's a good thing I pocketed this thing when we tried to escape the house!" Lynn told herself as she pulled out her familiar red and blue wrestling mask and put it on.</p><p>"Her opponent, STEAK 'THE SILVER SNAKE' STANKCO!" the announcer then said.</p><p>The large, burly young boy with the black mohawk then made his way down to the ring area with confidence and fire in his eyes.</p><p>"Oh yeah, we forgot to tell ya! You're fighting a dude!" Hank shouted from the sidelines.</p><p>"No sweat, LJ, you got this!" Lynn told herself as she stood tall and refused to back down.</p><p>The fire was then reignited after the referee entered the ring to join Lynn and Steak.</p><p>"FIGHT!" he yelled.</p><p>Steak immediately charged at Lynn, but she jumped up and flipped over his head, before landing on her feet.</p><p>"You'll have to be quicker than that, buddy!" Lynn taunted.</p><p>"STAND STILL!" Steak shouted as he charged again.</p><p>This time, Lynn waited for him to come close, then she quickly sidestepped as he threw a punch. It missed, and Lynn took the chance to deliver a quick kick to the gut, winding the larger boy.</p><p>"Ugh! That does it, you'll pay for that!" Steak said as he leaped at Lynn again.</p><p>He managed to grab her and pin her to the ground. Lynn was freakishly strong, but so was he, and she struggled to squirm her way out of his grip. After pulling off her mask in disrespect, he tried to choke her, while she did all she could to resist.</p><p>"Ha ha! A pretty lousy first match! I expected better from this place! Instead, I end up fighting a little prissy girl!" Steak insultingly said.</p><p>"What did you say?!" Lynn furiously asked as she began to use her maximum strength to break free of his hold.</p><p>"Woah!" he cried as the petite Loud girl managed to power her way out of his grip, before placing her feet beneath his chest.</p><p>"See ya!" she said before kicking him off her.</p><p>He stumbled backwards, stopping himself just before he collided with the fiery edge of the ring. As he regained him stature, he walked right into a punch in the face from Lynn, followed by two hooks to the gut, and a knee to the groin.</p><p>"ARGH!" he yelled in pain.</p><p>"Time to say goodnight!" Lynn said as she got up close, impressively managed to lift the larger boy onto her shoulders, and then performed the attitude adjustment finisher.</p><p>As Steak hit the ground hard, Lynn quickly got on top for a pinfall victory.</p><p>"1…2… 3!" the referee counted before raising Lynn's hand.</p><p>"Here is your winner… LUNATIC LYNN!" the announcer shouted to the crowd.</p><p>Lynn stood and looked as over a thousand children cheered for her. It was the first time she had been truly happy and full of joy in weeks. She delivered a muscle flex pose, as she got absorbed in the hype of the moment.</p><p>"Oh yeah! LYNNER LYNNER CHICKEN DINNER!" she boasted out loud, though her celebration was premature.</p><p>"And now the main event, Lunatic Lynn will battle… THE REIGNING, DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED EWF CHAMPION, MAX POWER!" the announcer suddenly said.</p><p>"Hey, WHAT?!" Lynn asked, confused.</p><p>"Oh, yeah. We knew you'd win the first fight pretty easy. Thanks, by the way, we got some good winnings because of you. But we also wanted to teach you a lesson, so you're booked for a second fight that you're probably gonna lose. Have fun." Hawk said as he as Hank fled the scene to collect their winnings, laughing away while leaving Lynn to her fate.</p><p>Lynn then waited tensely for her next opponent to come out…</p><p>The boy then made his entrance. Fireworks were on display in honour of the champ as he walked over with nothing but his black shorts and shoes, owning the shirtless look. He had dirty, messy blonde hair and a serious, aggressive expression on his face. He actually appeared a little smaller than her first opponent, Steak. He definitely had notable muscle, but it was more lean rather than buff. He was still half a head taller than Lynn, however, and had a larger build than her. Not that it mattered, as Lynn was far stronger than her physique implied.</p><p>"Okay, he doesn't look so tough." Lynn said to herself, growing more confident that she could win.</p><p>After the ring of fire was extinguished and then reignited, Lynn squared up to her second opponent inside the circle of flame.</p><p>"You beat that big guy, huh? Maybe you're not as puny as you look." the champ said to the petite Loud girl.</p><p>"Keep talking, buddy. I've wasted chumps twice your size, so I don't expect you to last long!" Lynn bit back.</p><p>"FIGHT!" the announcer yelled as the two young fighters got ready to throw down.</p><p>"Word of advice, don't take it easy on me because I'm a girl!" Lynn warned as she went to throw a punch.</p><p>To her surprise and shock, he caught the fast strike effortlessly with his hand.</p><p>"I won't!" he told her before smacking her in the mouth.</p><p>Lynn stepped back, inspected the damage by putting her finger on her lip, and saw a slight spillage of blood.</p><p>"Okay, bro… let's do this!" she said, determined as she put up her dukes and prepared to battle it out with the champion.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Arvon Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lynn made the first move with a quick jab to Max's head, but he parried the strike and attempted a left hook. Lynn was quick enough, however, and dodged the punch. Lynn then landed a hard right cross to the head, but Max quickly came back with one of his own. The two fighters then continued to throw punches at each other and absorb the blows, neither of them backing down or letting the pain show.</p><p>"You're strong for a little girl." Max admitted.</p><p>"And fast!" Lynn said as she leaped into the air.</p><p>Lynn tried to execute a jumping spinning back kick, but her opponent simply stepped back and then hit her as soon as she landed on the ground.</p><p>"Your fancy stuff won't work with me!" he told her as he came forward with a barrage of strikes.</p><p>But Lynn was ready. She fought through the punches and managed to perform a double leg takedown on her opponent. Lynn then tried to ground and pound Max to gain the advantage, but he resorted to dirty tactics.</p><p>"AGH! Quit it!" Lynn cried as the champ yanked her by the ponytail.</p><p>"This ain't professional stuff! Anything goes here!" Max insisted as he then quickly sat up and attempted a kimura lock on Lynn.</p><p>Lynn fought the submission as he struggled to apply the lock properly. Lynn answered with some punches, an elbow and a headbutt to stop him. But Max then spat in her face and managed to throw her off him.</p><p>"Alright, buddy. Now it's on!" Lynn said as she wiped the saliva off her face with her sleeve.</p><p>Max went for a haymaker, but Lynn bob and weaved her way out of the impact, before coming back with a roundhouse kick to the gut.</p><p>"Ungh!" the boy yelled, as even he couldn't hide the pain.</p><p>She then dealt the boy a blow to the groin.</p><p>"ARGH!" he screamed.</p><p>"What? You said anything goes." the sporty Loud girl taunted.</p><p>Lynn then went for a right hook, but Max grabbed her fist with his hand and then punched her in the throat.</p><p>"Umpf!" Lynn blurted out as she grabbed her throat and stumbled back, dazed by the blow.</p><p>She came dangerously close to colliding with the fiery edge of the circle, but she managed to pull herself forward and away from it. However, as she did so, she was grabbed by the blonde bruiser and given a brutal knee to the face, leaving her groggy while her opponent backed away for a second.</p><p>Max then ran up and delivered a fatal superman punch to the sporty Loud girl, knocking her to the ground. The crowd roared as they thought the fight was over. Everyone did. But Lynn wouldn't go down that easy…</p><p>"It's gonna take more than that, bro!" Lynn said from the ground before springing back to her feet, completely unfazed by what could have been a knock out punch.</p><p>Max looked on in awe. He couldn't help but be impressed by the resiliency of the young girl.</p><p>"You're pretty tough, I'll give you that!" Max said.</p><p>"Tough enough to beat you!" Lynn bragged.</p><p>"Bring it!" he barked back.</p><p>As the fight went on, fatigue began to kick in for both fighters. Lynn was still licking her wounds from the beating Hank and Hawk gave her one day before, while Max wasn't exactly 100% either, having fought many EWF battles in recent weeks. Despite that, both of them had given each other a long, hard fought fight. But even for them two, tiredness began to take effect after a while.</p><p>"Go down!" Lynn yelled as she gave her opponent a mean uppercut to the chin, then a right hook.</p><p>"Ladies first!" Max said as he dealt Lynn a nasty head shot, followed by a punch to the solar plexus.</p><p>Skill went out the window as the two became exhausted. This final stage of the fight, where the two just took turns giving powerful blows to each other, simply came down to which of them could take more punishment…</p><p>Lynn headbutted the larger boy, hoping to bring him down, but it wasn't quite enough. Max then gave Lynn a punch to the stomach, which had won him previous battles in the ring of fire.</p><p>"What?! How are you still standing?!" he asked as the blow didn't even damage Lynn.</p><p>"It's an iron gut in more ways than one, baby!" Lynn boasted.</p><p>Both fighters then gave each other wild haymakers, with neither having enough energy to avoid them, only absorb the damage. Both fighters came close to being floored, but they managed to keep themselves standing.</p><p>*BUZZZZZZ*</p><p>"ANNNDDDD…. We have a time over, ladies and gentlemen! For the first time ever in EWF history, a fight has lasted longer than five minutes!" the announcer shouted as the timer reached zero.</p><p>The fire was put out as Lynn and Max took a moment to regain their breath.</p><p>Despite the intensity and brutality of the battle in what was essentially a street fight surrounded by roaring flames, both combatants were tough enough to last the full five minutes, which was quite a long time by such standards.</p><p>"Hey, kid. What's your name?" asked the blonde bruiser.</p><p>"Lynn. You?" she replied.</p><p>"Well, as you heard, my name is Max. But my last name isn't Power, that's just a stage name." he said.</p><p>"Oh. So, what is your last name?" she asked.</p><p>"Cooper." he confirmed.</p><p>"So, what now?" Lynn asked.</p><p>"Dunno. This hasn't happened before. Normally fights here last less than a minute." Max explained.</p><p>The referee then walked over and grabbed one hand of each of the two child fighters. After getting into position, the ref then held up each of their hands in the air, confirming he ruled the fight a draw.</p><p>"It appears we a tie, another first in the EWF! However, because of betting odds and winnings, we cannot allow the match to end this way. The fire will be reignited, and the two must continue to fight until there is a winner!" the announcer declared to the audience.</p><p>As the audience screamed for blood and for the two kids to continue pummelling each other, the champ had a thought…</p><p>"Hey, Lynn! When I give the signal, we make a run for it!" Max quietly whispered to Lynn.</p><p>"What signal?" Lynn asked.</p><p>As the referee backed off and some other kids came down to put another load of flammable liquid on the ground to reignite the flamed circle, the boy picked his moment…</p><p>"NOW!" Max yelled to Lynn as the two began to run.</p><p>"STOP THEM!" the ref shouted as security emerged to chase after the two fighters.</p><p>Lynn and Max were both fast and agile, fit young kids, but they were still tired from fighting each other, so they had to rely on more than just running speed. Fortunately, Max had grown familiar with the EWF arena.</p><p>"Quick, over here!" he told Lynn as the two ran into a dark corner.</p><p>"We're trapped! Why did you lead us over here!?" she panicked.</p><p>"Because of this!" he said as he revealed there was a trap door in the ground.</p><p>The two kids then opened the door and jumped through it, landing on their feet in the area below.</p><p>"Secret sewer exit. I've been planning my chance to escape for a couple of weeks now." Max said.</p><p>And with that, the two children, having gained a mutual respect for each other through battle, made their way out of the arena and into the realm of freedom once again…</p><hr/><p>In Royal Woods the following morning, the newly elected committee, led by Chandler McCann, began its first conference…</p><p>"I believe we should start this meeting by outlining our most important priorities for the foreseeable future. To help us do this, I think each of you should be given a specific area of focus that relates to your areas of expertise." Chandler began with.</p><p>Margo, Jordan and Benny all nodded in agreement with this, while Chester simply sat back and remained unresponsive.</p><p>"Jordan, as a girl of high social status and fashion sense, I think you should oversee the likes of finding the materials for, and the making of our clothes." Chandler suggested.</p><p>"That sounds good to me." Jordan supported.</p><p>"Margo, as a lady of more physical pursuits, I think you should be in charge of our defences and security around here. You and your friends seem like girls who can handle themselves." Chandler then said to the sporty teen.</p><p>"You'll bet your bottom dollar we can." she confidently put it.</p><p>"As for you, Benny, I understand you're a man of the arts. Unfortunately, drama is not something we can prioritise right now, so I think you might be best for handling trade. You know, making sure people trade food and money, and other things in a fair and reasonable way." Chandler suggested.</p><p>"I think I should be able to handle that. We did a play about trading goods once. I got the jist of it." Benny said.</p><p>"As for myself, I will be in charge of technical stuff. Things like making sure our people have homes to go to. There are plenty of unpopulated houses in this part of town right now, thanks to all the adults vanishing. So, it shouldn't be too hard to find our 200 or so friends a place to stay. Also, my dad was into sewage works, so I guess I could dive into that, too." Chandler stated.</p><p>"Yeah, that's great and all. Now, what about me?" asked the fifth committee member.</p><p>"Oh, right. Chester, I almost forgot about you." Chandler said.</p><p>"I'm sure it was just an oversight." Chester sarcastically responded, knowing Chandler wasn't happy about him being there in the first place.</p><p>"Anyway, I have an important job for you. I want you to be in charge of finding a group of kids and going off with them to find the books we need to make sure we have the knowledge to do any of these things properly." Chandler said.</p><p>"So… basically, I'm a treasure hunter and a librarian?" Chester questioned.</p><p>"Call it whatever you like. I hope there isn't a problem with that." Chandler said.</p><p>"Nope. Perfectly happy to do it." Chester replied, projecting a happy and obedient front.</p><p>"Good." Chandler said.</p><p>"Of course, it seems like a rather easy job. I'll just go to the local library." Chester stated.</p><p>"True, but it was only a small library. You might need to go looking elsewhere, too." Chandler said.</p><p>"So everyone, with that in mind, I think we need to outline a list of primary objectives we need to meet for the next coming weeks and months." Chandler said to the group.</p><p>"Well, for one thing, I think we should all work towards finding better ways to grow more crops. The supplies everyone took just after The Big Vanish happened are starting to run out." Benny said.</p><p>"Yeah, and the field work some of the boys are doing right now just isn't going to be enough for 200 mouths to feed." Jordan stated.</p><p>"Very well. I propose that Chester takes his little group and finds some information about how to actually grow crops productively. Make that your priority." Chandler told Chester.</p><p>"Absolutely, I'll get right on it." Chester assured his leader.</p><p>"Another thing I think we should think about is establishing a working law of some kind. I mean, I'm in charge of defence from outsiders, but I'm also responsible for security inside. But how do I know when to use those duties? There aren't any rules to follow. We need to create some kind of set of written laws." Margo pointed out.</p><p>"Good thinking, Margo. Alright, I'll get working on a written constitution for our new society to follow." Chandler declared.</p><p>"What's wrong with the good old, general United States one?" Jordan asked.</p><p>"Well, it was written about 300 years ago and wasn't done so with this kind of thing in mind. Plus, it's kind of hard for little kids to read and understand it. I think making our own would actually be much easier." Chandler justified.</p><p>"Fair enough, but I think we should all get a say in what our new constitution says." Benny proposed.</p><p>"Agreed. Right, next thing…" Chandler then continued as the discussion went on.</p><hr/><p>But as the children of the new government of Royal Woods continued to discuss and debate what to do in order to produce a prosperous society, some children had to have meetings of their own in other places, such as The Mortician's Guard.</p><p>Thanks to the batteries that Lincoln brought with him in his backpack after escaping his house, The Mortician's Guard were able to have Boris provide his musical theatrics with his handheld keyboard once again during meetings.</p><p>That morning, they were holding a funeral for the dear friend they had lost…</p><p>"He was as passionate about the dead and the underworld as much as any of us, and he was a truly excellent leader. Bertrand will be missed." Lucy said aloud to the others.</p><p>"Unfortunately, we have no body to place into a coffin, due to the circumstances of his untimely demise. However, we have a prop skeleton we can use instead." Haiku said as she and Lucy put the skeleton into the coffin.</p><p>"Feel free to pay your respects to our fallen Mortician after we're finished with the service. In the meantime, we should honour the fact that he did not die in vain. He went out heroically." Lucy proudly said as she shed a tear.</p><p>"Indeed. Bertrand rescued both our dearest friend Lucy and her brother from certain doom. He will be missed deeply." Haiku finished for her, seeing it was hard for Lucy to keep going.</p><p>The rest of the Mortician's then walked over to the coffin and paid their final respects to their fallen friend, making do with the fake skeleton prop as a pretend dead body. Lincoln then took the chance to walk over and finally catch up with his friends after so many weeks apart.</p><p>"So, I see you guys have really gotten into being Mortician's." Lincoln started, trying to lighten the mood.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm still not keen on it." Rusty said.</p><p>"I'm just glad to see you again, buddy." Clyde told his best friend.</p><p>"They're actually really cool. They do all these rituals and stuff, and they even practice knife fighting!" Rocky said.</p><p>"What?!" asked a startled Lincoln.</p><p>"Yeah, they all know how to use daggers. It's what allowed them to fight off so many zombies." Zach stated.</p><p>"Still, I don't know where a bunch of undead goth worshippers would have learned that from." Liam remarked.</p><p>"From me." Lucy said, much to the shock of Lincoln and his friends. She and Haiku overheard their conversation and joined in the discussion.</p><p>"GAH! Lucy, you have to stop doing that!" Lincoln told her.</p><p>"My fellow Morticians and I were able to learn knife fighting techniques from your sister, Lucy." Haiku confirmed.</p><p>"Okay, but that raises more questions. Like, where did YOU learn that stuff, sis?" Lincoln questioned.</p><p>"What? I've spent 8 years as the roommate of a competitive, violent sports loving jock who's trained in pretty much every sport known to man, including martial arts. Don't you think Lynn would have shown me a thing or two in that time?" Lucy rhetorically asked.</p><p>"Okay, so if you had all this great knife fighting ability, then why didn't you use it on Hank or Hawk, or with the zombies?!" Lincoln pointed out.</p><p>"We only use our skills on the undead, not the living. And I didn't have any weapons with me in the forest. But there's plenty of weapons here for us to use." Lucy clarified.</p><p>"That's great! Lucy, you can teach your brother and us!" Rusty said.</p><p>"I don't know. What do you think, Haiku? Are they ready for that?" Lucy asked her friend.</p><p>"They're a little new for all that. These members only joined us last month, and have only recently embraced our style and customs. As for your brother, he still needs to change his look. A boy with a bright orange shirt just doesn't fit in around here." Haiku said.</p><p>"Fine, I've dressed up as a goth a couple of times before. It's no biggie." Lincoln insisted.</p><p>"Even so, I'm not sure you guys are ready." Haiku told them.</p><p>"Sure, we are. We can handle it, no problem." Zach said.</p><p>"How much harder can it be than handling a rake or a shovel?" asked Liam the farm boy.</p><p>The two goth girls then looked at each other and nodded.</p><p>"Okay, I will give you lessons. But I must warn you, it can get intense!" Lucy firmly told Lincoln and his friends, causing them all to adopt nervous facial expressions.</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, Luan and the younger Loud sisters continued on their search for somewhere to settle as they encountered Groove Hill, many miles away from home. As they reached the destination, they found something that looked very promising.</p><p>It was a camp site, or so it appeared. There were various tents all around the area, all allegedly containing one or more children. Intrigued, the Louds approached the site to take a closer look.</p><p>"Um, hello?!" Lola shouted out loud.</p><p>"Anybody hanging around?" Lana asked.</p><p>No response was generated from their call-outs.</p><p>Lisa then decided to open one of the tents and take a quick peek inside…</p><p>"Nothing." She said.</p><p>"Lisa!" Luan shouted.</p><p>"What?" asked the socially unaware genius.</p><p>"You can't just peek inside other people's tents without warning! That completely disregards people's privacy! They could've been doing anything in there!" Luan told her off.</p><p>"Apologies. That error in judgement will be noted." Lisa stated.</p><p>"Good." Luan replied.</p><p>"HEY! If there's any little jerks here, now would be a great time to TELL US!" Lola yelled loudly, growing impatient of waiting for a response.</p><p>"I don't think anybody's here." Lana said.</p><p>"Then why are all these hideous monstrosities still here?!" Lola asked, regarding the tents.</p><p>"Easy, they left them after they found actual houses to live in." Lana responded.</p><p>"Well, it's no good if there's no one here. It will take more than just a few tents in the middle of some grass land to satisfy our living needs." Luan sceptically put it.</p><p>"Eh, I think it's a pretty sweet deal." Lana enthusiastically said.</p><p>"Of course you do! You're a girl who likes taking mud baths and swimming in garbage!" Lola berated her.</p><p>"Oh, come on, guys. At least give 'em a chance." Lana asked her sisters.</p><p>"Well, it is going to get dark soon, and we haven't found any better options. I guess we can make do with them for at least one night." Luan decided.</p><p>"Yeah!" Lana joyfully shouted, finding the idea of camping out in a tent to be quite exciting.</p><p>"Ugh, fine! But I'm going to have the biggest and prettiest one." Lola claimed.</p><p>"Your reasoning is most logical, comedic sibling. We shall rest our heads and find somewhere more suitable for long term settlement in the morning." Lisa said as she entered the tent closest to her.</p><p>"Alright, let's make these places our own, at least for now. We want to get some good sleep. Tomorrow will be just a lot more walking." Luan told her sisters as she too retreated into a tent with Lily in her hands.</p><p>Lola found the one she found the most desirable, or relatively least repulsive, and made her way inside…</p><p>"Oh, good lord." she said to herself as she saw what, or who, was inside.</p><p>About 15 or so kindergarten students, all around Lisa's age, were all huddled in together inside the largest tent that Lola had just entered. They were all asleep. One of the kids opened her eyes, hearing Lola's footsteps. Lola knew it would be best to keep them dormant, or else there would be chaos.</p><p>"Heyyy… hi there, little kiddie, my name's Lola. No need to be scared." Lola tried to quietly tell the waking infant in as soft and friendly a tone she could give.</p><p>"AAAAGGHHHH!" screamed the little girl.</p><p>And with that, all the kindergarten kids woke up simultaneously and began to panic hyperactively. They all began running around, colliding into each other, and crying.</p><p>"Hey, calm down you little brats!" Lola commanded them, but to no effect.</p><p>As it became frantic inside the confines of the large tent, Lola managed to squirm her way out of there by the skin of her teeth. She ran over to her sisters for help…</p><p>"LUAN! LANA! LISA!" Lola cried.</p><p>The other sisters poked their heads out of their respective tents to ask what all the commotion was about…</p><p>"What?" Luan replied.</p><p>"Lots of little kids! All in there!" Lola said as she pointed at the tent she had just crawled out of.</p><p>Suddenly, the kids spilled out into the camp site, spreading the frantic destruction all over the place. Luan, Lola and Lana were all terrified as the might of multiple hyperactive infants was approaching them, but Lisa, more than used to being surrounded by such little children, was well equipped.</p><p>"Well, it's a good thing I brought this with me when we abandoned the house." Lisa claimed as she pulled a whistle out of her pocket.</p><p>Lisa then blew the whistle. Except for Lily, none of the Loud sisters could hear anything. However, the kindergarten kids stopped right in their tracks.</p><p>"Works every time." Lisa gloated.</p><p>"I didn't hear nothing!" Lana said, confused.</p><p>"It's a high-pitched whistle. I designed it myself. Only children younger than five can hear it." Lisa explained.</p><p>"How does that work?" Lola asked.</p><p>"As we get older, our ability to hear higher pitched sounds wanes." Lisa informed her.</p><p>Lisa then turned her attention to the kids, still stood there after she blew the whistle…</p><p>"Attention fellow infantile humans. Some of you may know me from Royal Woods Elementary School. My name is Lisa Loud." she announced.</p><p>"… Li, Lisa?" asked a voice familiar to the scientifically gifted Loud girl.</p><p>"Darcy?" Lisa replied.</p><p>Darcy then stood forward to reveal it was her. Reunited after several weeks, both girls ran towards each other and embraced in a hug of passionate friendship.</p><p>"It's good to see you again, Lisa." Darcy said.</p><p>"My platonic feelings to you are also positively potent." Lisa responded.</p><p>"Huh?" Darcy asked, unsure what she meant.</p><p>"Sorry. It's good to see you, too." Lisa simplified.</p><p>"So, you and your sisters want to stay here with us?" one of the other kids asked.</p><p>"If that is acceptable with all of you." Lisa said, making her intentions clear.</p><p>"I think we can accommodate you." spoke another one of the children from the very back, who made his way to the front of the group.</p><p>"David?" Lisa asked.</p><p>"Greetings, Lisa. It's been a while." he said, unable to prevent himself from blushing.</p><p>"Indeed, it has." she said in agreement as she also blushed.</p><p>"What has led you to this location?" David asked, intrigued.</p><p>"The same reasons as you, I assume. You fled Royal Woods and needed somewhere to reside for a while." Lisa deducted.</p><p>"Yes, that pretty much covers it." he confirmed.</p><p>"Can I ask, if you have all these tents here, why were you all sleeping in that one over there together?" Lisa asked.</p><p>"That was my doing, I'm afraid. I was in there trying to explain to the others my scientific theories for how 'The Big Vanish' occurred and how its effects may be reversed." David told her.</p><p>"Really? Can you tell me about them?" Lisa asked with great enthusiasm.</p><p>"You compliment me, but we can discuss that later. For now, we need to ensure your needs are taken care of. Friends, find somewhere for Lisa's sisters to stay." David instructed as he turned his attention to the other kindergarten children.</p><p>"No problem." one of the other kids said.</p><p>"As for you, Lisa, you can share with me." David said.</p><p>"Oh… wow, really?" Lisa asked excitedly, still unable to contain her blushing cheeks.</p><p>"Definitely. I think our minds are intellectually compatible for such an arrangement." David complimented.</p><p>And with that, the small band of sisters had found a place to call home, at least for the time being, with a bunch of four-year olds, of all people. The other sisters looked on, intrigued and surprised, that Lisa had seemingly struck a pretty sweet romantic deal with another young boy.</p><p>"Well, there's something I didn't expect to see today." Lana remarked.</p><hr/><p>Back at Great Lakes City, Carl was appointed the role of babysitter by his new boss. He grumbled to himself in utter misery as he was tasked with the burden of watching over the little Dickie Morito, a small and naive child, even smaller and younger than Carl himself, being only five years old.</p><p>Carl sat there on the sofa, utterly bored as he watched the kid playing with his toy horses…</p><p>"…and then, the good horsie comes along and saves the others from the Savage Stallion, using the power of FRIENDSHIP! Yay!" the little boy said as he simulated a make-believe world with his toys.</p><p>"Ugh!" Carl quietly reacted to himself.</p><p>"Then the grand mayor horse came along and gave the good horsie a medal for being such a super cool hero." Dickie said as he picked up another toy horse and pretended it was the mayor.</p><p>"It's hard to believe he's the brother of a mafia boss." Carl remarked, in a completely deadpan tone.</p><p>"Okay, I'm bored with playing horses now. What else can we do for fun?" little Dickie turned to Carl and asked.</p><p>"Oh, I don't know. How about we turn on the TV?" Carl suggested.</p><p>"But I thought the TV doesn't work anymore." Dickie replied.</p><p>"I know, I was being sarcastic." Carl said, still with a completely deadpan tone.</p><p>"Why?" the innocent, naive boy asked.</p><p>"Because you're… never mind." Carl stopped himself, before he said something to Don's brother that he would regret.</p><p>"Do you like playing with toys?" Dickie asked him.</p><p>"Pfft. Me? I'm too much of a ladies man macho type for all that stuff." Carl lied in order to keep a cool face.</p><p>"Really? Aren't you a little young to be interested in that stuff?" Dickie questioned.</p><p>"Nah, that's just what parents used to say to their kids to make them feel better, because most of them didn't mature and man-up at such a fast rate, like me!" the six-year-old braggart boasted.</p><p>"I miss my mom and dad." Dickie sadly said after Carl's comment made him remember them.</p><p>"Eh, don't worry. You've still got me, and your brother." Carl reassured him.</p><p>"Thank you." Dickie said.</p><p>"Don't mention it." Carl replied.</p><p>"So, are you my brother's slave now?" Dickie asked him.</p><p>"NO! I chose to work for him; made sure I got a decent pay for my services." Carl lied again.</p><p>"My brother said you were his servant who will do whatever he asks." Dickie commented.</p><p>"Your brother talks a lot of guff, kid." Carl told him.</p><p>"Really? So, if I told him…" Dickie started to say.</p><p>"Um, no! No need to tell him that. Heh heh. I'm just jossing ya." Carl nervously blurted out, not wanting the kid to blab to his brother.</p><p>"My brother is a good leader, I think. He explained something to me about power once… um…" Dickie stumbled in his speech as he struggled to remember.</p><p>"He probably took an idea off some thinker and screwed it up to fit his own idea on how to be in charge. That's what he normally does." Carl cynically commented.</p><p>"Oh, I remember now. He said, power must be one dimensional. You can't rely on the other dimensions of influence or ideas, it has to be through force. That's the only way that works." Dickie said.</p><p>"And do you have any idea what any of that even means?" Carl asked.</p><p>"Er… nope." the boy admitted.</p><p>"Go figure." Carl responded.</p><p>"But I'll learn. Don will teach me before it's my time." Dickie insisted.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm sure he will." Carl said to the kid, all while growing a sinister grin on his face.</p><hr/><p>Ronnie Anne and Sid finally concluded their travels. Having crossed the bridge into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the two girls and their three tigers had approached Mount Arvon. Determined to complete their journey, they walked up the mountain in pursuit of the mysterious hooded figure.</p><p>"We're almost at the top of this stupid mountain! It can't be long to go now." Ronnie Anne told herself as she almost reached the peak of Mount Arvon.</p><p>"I hope so, because I'm really tired! I'll level with you, bestie. I know I've probably said I'd follow you to the ends of the earth before… but I'm starting to want to take that back. If we go much further, I think I'm going to pass out." Sid said.</p><p>"Don't worry. I'm sure we're almost there." Ronnie reassured her.</p><p>"How? We don't even know where we're going." Sid said.</p><p>"I don't know how to explain, but I can just sense it." Ronnie insisted.</p><p>Sure enough, the two girls made it to the top shortly afterwards. Both girls reached the peak of the mountain and could see a truly stunning view of the landscape surrounding them. However, the most eye-catching piece of visual scenery was on the mountain top with them.</p><p>"Oh…" Ronnie started.</p><p>"…My…" Sid continued.</p><p>"…GOD!" Ronnie finished.</p><p>The two girls stared in amazement towards the prestigious and beautiful structure in front of them. It was a large, refined shaolin temple, based on the top of Mount Arvon. The white walls, red rooftops and stylised windows all added to the elegant front that the structure pulled off seamlessly.</p><p>"It's amazing." Ronnie Anne gushed.</p><p>"It's like being back home." Sid said, referring to her half-Chinese ethnicity and background.</p><p>"I never knew there was a temple on top of Mount Arvon!" Ronnie Anne said, surprised.</p><p>As the two looked around, they saw the hooded figure they had been following for the past couple of days. He finally walked over and approached them.</p><p>"我是顺欢。欢迎来到少林寺。" he then spoke to the two girls.</p><p>"Um, Sid. Your half Chinese, what did he say?" Ronnie asked.</p><p>"He said 'I'm Shun Huan. Welcome to Shaolin Temple.'" Sid translated.</p><p>"你必须输入。黄师傅会欢迎你" he said.</p><p>"What?" Ronnie responded.</p><p>"He said 'You must enter. Master Huang will welcome you.'" Sid told her.</p><p>"Master Huang? Alright, let's see if this place is worth the trip. I sure hope these guys can speak English, though." Ronnie Anne said as the two girls then followed the hooded figure into the temple.</p><p>The two girls, accompanied by their trio of loyal striped companions, set foot into a domain that would change their lives and outlooks on the world forever. Ronnie Anne was determined to obtain the power and influence needed to bring down the new evils of the world, and where better to start than a monastery of monks…?</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Elsewhere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ronnie Anne, Sid and the three tigers were led through the temple grounds on their way to see the esteemed master. They walked through the golden gates and into the outside area where many of the monks were training. Naturally, because of 'The Big Vanish', all of the monks were children aged 15 or under. Yet they still had the fluidity and skill superior to most of your average adults. Sid and even Ronnie Anne, who was an accomplished tough girl in her own right, could only look on in amazement over just how impressive they were with every punch, every kick, every movement.</p><p>Eventually, Shun Huan led them inside the temple, into the master's private room, so he could speak with them.</p><p>When they arrived before the leader of the Shaolin temple, it really hit home just how different the new world they lived in was. A small, bald headed boy, no older than Ronnie Anne or Sid themselves, was sitting in the master's chair.</p><p>"师父，这是您要寻找的"Shun said to his master.</p><p>"What did he say?" Ronnie whispered to Sid.</p><p>"He basically just told him that we're the ones he was looking for." Sid whispered back.</p><p>"你做得很好你可以离开我们。" Master Huang said back to Shun.</p><p>"He just told him he did a good job and he can go now." Sid quietly said to Ronnie.</p><p>Shun Huan then left the room as the master stood up and began to speak.</p><p>"您是我要找的人吗？" he said.</p><p>"He's asking if you're the one he's been searching for." Sid translated.</p><p>"Tell him, um, yeah… I think." Ronnie Anne said.</p><p>"是的，我们就是您想要的" Sid said to the master.</p><p>"你误会了，我在跟你的动物三重奏说话" Master Huang responded.</p><p>"He said we misunderstood, and that he was talking to our pet tigers." Sid explained to Ronnie.</p><p>"He was asking the tigers!? How can he do that? They don't speak any languages at all!" she questioned.</p><p>"That's what he said." Sid insisted.</p><p>"Are you sure you're translating right?" Ronnie asked sceptically.</p><p>"Excuse me?" asked the shaolin master.</p><p>"Huh?" both girls responded as they turned back around to face him again, believing they suspected a word of English.</p><p>"You both speak English, yes?" Master Huang asked.</p><p>"Wait, YOU speak English?" both girls asked in unison, taken by surprise.</p><p>"I do. Perhaps it would be easier for us all to do so to remove communication barriers." he suggested.</p><p>"Well yeah, it would save me wasting time with all this middle man stuff!" Sid remarked.</p><p>"Very well. Now can you confirm if these are the tigers my people and I have been looking for?" he asked.</p><p>"Um, sorry dude. I have no idea what you're talking about. I thought you wanted us." Ronnie answered.</p><p>"Ah, typical western people. Always so full of ego." he joked.</p><p>"Hey!" Ronnie bit back.</p><p>"If they are not the three legendary tigers I seek, then you are not welcome in this temple." he told them.</p><p>"Wait a minute! Sid and I just walked through the whole state of Michigan to get here! We walked over a bridge with crocodiles underneath! We even climbed a mountain!" Ronnie complained.</p><p>"Yeah, and we were just following that hooded Shun guy! He led us here!" Sid added.</p><p>"I think he was mistaken when he saw the three tigers beside you." Master Huang explained.</p><p>"Why? What's supposed to be so important about three tigers anyway?" Ronnie asked.</p><p>The master than pointed out of the window towards the temple gardens. Ronnie Anne and Sid then looked to see a large stone statue of three tigers, with one featureless human figure stood among them.</p><p>"Woah!" Ronnie said in awe.</p><p>"Cool!" Sid said.</p><p>"You see, we are Buddhist monks. Buddhists seek to reach a state of Nirvana." the wise young master began to explain as they gazed at the statue.</p><p>"What does 'nirvana' mean?" Sid asked.</p><p>"I have no idea." Ronnie replied.</p><p>"You call it 'blowing out' or 'quenching'." he said, to the attention and amusement of the two girls.</p><p>That earned a chuckle from Ronnie and Sid, who tried their best to hold in the laughter out of respect.</p><p>"Humorous, is it?" he asked, annoyed.</p><p>"Nope." Ronnie said.</p><p>"Carry on." said Sid.</p><p>"It is the ultimate spiritual goal that brings true peace and happiness. An enlightenment that brings the end of greed, hatred and delusion." he continued.</p><p>"Well, that's what we all want, be we'll be hard pressed to get it in this new world!" Ronnie Anne remarked.</p><p>"Buddhists traditionally do not believe in a personal god. We believe in change, and nothing is fixed. We do hold one being in high regard. The Buddha. He was born 2500 years ago as a privileged member of royalty, until he encountered and old man, a sick man and a corpse. Disturbed by this, he became a monk. He led a life of 'the middle way' and became enlightened. Though not a deity, we hold him in the highest regard." Huang explained.</p><p>"Okay? That's sounds cool and everything, but what does that have to do with us?" Ronnie asked.</p><p>"Those of us in this temple hold the belief that one day, the spirit of the Buddha will walk the earth again, within the souls of three felines, led by their young master." he finished.</p><p>"And you think that's us?" Ronnie asked.</p><p>"But clearly my disciple was wrong. Forgive us for our error in judgement. You may leave." Huang told them.</p><p>"What? No way! I told you, it took a lot to get here! We're not just walking out now!" the Hispanic tomboy argued.</p><p>"Why are we not the ones you described in that story anyway?" Sid asked.</p><p>"I cannot sense the spirit of the Buddha in you." he said.</p><p>"You can't sense it in us?!" Ronnie asked sceptically.</p><p>"I am sorry, but there is no purpose for you here. Please leave." Master Huang finished.</p><p>And with that, the two girls were sent on their way. But Ronnie Anne wasn't one to give up that easily…</p><p>"This isn't over. We're not going anywhere!" Ronnie Anne told Sid and her girls.</p><p>While they walked out of the room, it was clear they weren't just going to exit the temple and climb back down the mountain. They were going to make something out of their journey.</p><hr/><p>The following morning, The Mortician's Guard watched as Lucy taught the new blood how to defend themselves from attackers. The boys and Stella were in a large room within the Mortician's lair, lined up, each with a wooden knife prop in their hand. Lucy prepared to begin her session with them as the boys waited in anticipation.</p><p>"It's a little weird, Lucy being a coach. Her quiet monotone isn't exactly fitting for the role. Still, can't say she isn't scary enough to pressure you into doing stuff." Lincoln quietly joked to Clyde as Lucy prepared to speak to the group.</p><p>"Let's begin with the basics. Each of you, hold the knives in your dominant hand and put your right foot forward. Place your other arm in front of your body so you don't present a target. Once you have your desired grip and stance prepared, thrust the knife forward, like you were throwing a punch." Lucy instructed the others.</p><p>The boys and Stella then did exactly that, and then repeated the movement a few times so they would get it drilled into their heads.</p><p>"Good, that is your most basic knife strike. Any questions?" the young goth asked.</p><p>"Um, yeah. Why are these things made of wood?" Rusty asked, confused.</p><p>"This is a training exercise, and you're all first timers. It is not safe to trust you with real knives. These are wooden and have smooth edges to reduce the danger during sparring." Lucy explained.</p><p>"Sparring?" Zach asked nervously.</p><p>"I'm not sure I'm ready for that." Clyde said, also anxious.</p><p>"Don't worry, guys. It will all be controlled so we don't accidentally slice each other open or anything." Stella reassured them.</p><p>"Exactly." Lucy said.</p><p>"I'm still rather uneasy about this. I normally like the sight of dead people and blood, but in this case, I don't want to see you boys hurt. We need you in the fight against the undead." Haiku said.</p><p>"Don't worry. These are only little wooden things. Heck, even the real ones wouldn't be that big a deal. They're only little things. I doubt they would even do that much damage!" Rusty said with confidence.</p><p>"Um, did you see what the Mortician's did to those three zombies with their knives?" Liam asked.</p><p>"Eh." Rusty responded.</p><p>"Perhaps knives are too small time for you guys. Maybe you would benefit from being able to play with the big boys toys?" Lucy suggested.</p><p>"Huh?" the boys responded.</p><p>"Come with me…" Lucy said as she led them towards a storage cupboard.</p><p>She opened it, and inside were tons of weapons. Axes, Maces, Nun-chucks, every single kind of medieval weapon, it was there…</p><p>"Woah!" said the boys in unison as they couldn't believe their eyes.</p><p>"Wow, you guys have a lot of weapons." Lincoln commented.</p><p>"There are some swords. Pick them up." Lucy ordered.</p><p>"The boys and Stella then picked up the swords as Lucy instructed.</p><p>"Since you're all so confident that you're too big and tough for knife fighting, we thought you would benefit from practicing with swords instead." Haiku said.</p><p>"Great!" Zach replied sarcastically.</p><p>"Thanks a lot, Rusty!" Clyde directed at his boastful friend.</p><p>Lincoln and the others then held up their swords and waited for Lucy to give the command…</p><p>"Swing!" she yelled.</p><p>To their surprise, the boys and Stella utterly struggled to swing the swords with any power or meaning. They were far heavier and harder to use effectively than they expected…</p><p>"Woah, these things are heavy!" Liam said.</p><p>"I can barely lift this!" Lincoln followed.</p><p>"It's not surprising. Even the average adult in the modern world lacks the strength to use a sword properly. To lift it, swing it and use it in battle continuously requires a lot more strength and fitness than most couch potatoes in the modern age possess." Lucy explained to the boys.</p><p>"Wow, I guess people were really strong back in the old days, huh?" Stella guessed.</p><p>"People in the old world used to do a lot more manual labour." Liam said.</p><p>"Well, it would appear we're starting to regress back to those times a little, so maybe you ought to gain a little more upper body strength." Haiku said.</p><p>"Agreed. Okay, I want to you all to spend this afternoon working out your muscles so you can grow stronger. Keeping picking up and swinging those swords until your bodies get used to it." Lucy ordered.</p><p>"All afternoon? Seriously?!" Zach asked.</p><p>"I'm afraid so. Time is as scarce a resource as food and clothes to us. We need you to improve yourselves now." she told them.</p><p>Lucy and the other goths then left the room to leave Lincoln's gang to train up their muscles for the remainder of the day with their new weapons…<br/>"Guys, next time Rusty opens his mouth, remind me to slap him!" Rocky said to the group.</p><p>"Will do." Zach replied.</p><p>"Yep." Liam followed.</p><p>"Absolutely." Clyde finished.</p><p>And with that, the band of school buddies were left to train for the afternoon, but would their efforts be enough?</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, Lynn and her newest ally Max made their way to his hideout. During their journey, the two started to get in on the banter…</p><p>"Okay, so where are we heading?" Lynn asked, still unsure where her new friend was taking her.</p><p>"A place where me and my friends hang out. It's an apartment above an antiques store. One of my friends used to live there with his mom and dad but they obviously vanished with all the other adults. Now he lets me and a few others live there." the boy explained.</p><p>"Sounds alright." Lynn said.</p><p>"Beats being a slave for the EWF!" he joked.</p><p>"Eh, there's worse." she replied.</p><p>"I got captured by a bunch of guys and forced to fight in the ring of fire with no way out. Fortunately, I managed to figure out a way to sneak out, as you know." Max said.</p><p>"Same. Some bullies raided my house and drove my family away! I don't even know where they are, maybe I can go and find them soon. Either way, I got caught and forced into the EWF!" Lynn revealed to him.</p><p>"That's rough. Still, at least you weren't stuck in there long enough for them to give you a corny stage name like Max Power." he joked.</p><p>"Right. Sorry, what was your real name again?" Lynn asked, ashamed that she had already forgot.</p><p>"Max Cooper. But my friends just call me Maxie." he confirmed.</p><p>"Oh. Okay, Maxie, tell me… you still sore that I almost kicked your butt back in that ring?" Lynn teased.</p><p>"Ha! You wish! It wasn't even a close one. I had you beat and you know it!" Maxie boasted back.</p><p>"That's funny, because that's not what I remember!" Lynn said as she returned the banter.</p><p>"I guess I gave you amnesia with that superman punch!" Maxie joked.</p><p>"Heh, good one! You're alright, bro." Lynn complimented.</p><p>"I guess you're not so bad either, ponytail." Maxie said back.</p><p>As the two continued to walk and exchange in humorous insult trading, they stared into each other's eyes. For each of them, they were experiencing something they didn't quite understand. Lynn insisted to herself for years that she wasn't the type of girl who was into romantic relationships, and yet there she was, admiring this boy for his tough, cool bravado and his uncompromising confidence, not unlike her own. Maxie was feeling the same way, and yet, neither of them was one to freely admit it so easily. Instead, the two of them quickly decided to end the moment and resume their bantering dialogue…</p><p>"So, Lynn… do you wear that 'number 1' jersey just to feel better about yourself because you're always coming last?" Maxie light-heartedly joked as a means to break the intimate mood.</p><p>"No, I wear it to rub in the faces of punks like you!" she returned with her own bit of good-humoured teasing.</p><p>The two ruffians then shared a chuckle of amusement as they came to like the company of one another. For the first time, Lynn had truly met her match.</p><hr/><p>Trouble came in many forms in the world the adults left behind, even in places ruled with an iron fist, such as Great Lakes City and its rule by Don Morito. Despite his dominance over the area, his men still found themselves having to deal with outside aggressors.</p><p>A gang of underaged bikers were rushing around the streets of the city, all with baseball bats in hand. As they rode past a store window or a road sign, they hit them with their baseball bats, inflicting destructive vandalism in the process.</p><p>"Hey, what's that?" asked one of the mafia cronies who was patrolling the area with his partner.</p><p>"I don't know, but it sounds pretty heavy. We should go and see." the other boy said.</p><p>The two boys turned their attention to the sounds of smashed glass and various thuds occurring from around the corner.</p><p>"What's this?!" the first boy blurted out after seeing what the bikers were doing.</p><p>"Who cares?! Shoot 'em!" the second boy shouted as the two pointed their weapons at the bikers.</p><p>However, the bikers were riding too fast for the boys to get an accurate shot as they kept missing and causing more damage to the surrounding area themselves.</p><p>"We keep missing!" one of the boys complained.</p><p>"They're riding too fast, and we're not really that good with these!" the other boy said.</p><p>"I knew we should have brought Dave, he's a whiz with guns!" the first boy pointed out.</p><p>The bikers began to literally ride circles around the two mafia guards as they just couldn't stop missing with their shots.</p><p>"What's the matter, boys? No good with guns? I've seen Stormtroopers shoot better!" one of the bikers taunted as they whizzed passed them.</p><p>"Why don't you get off that bike and fight like a man?!" one of the boys angrily shouted back at the biker in frustration.</p><p>The biker then stopped in their tracks, got off, and walked towards the two mafia cronies…</p><p>…after removing their helmet, the two boys received a bit of a surprise.</p><p>"You're a girl?!" the boy asked.</p><p>"Yeah, that's right. We're the biker gang, and we're girls!" she told them.</p><p>"Um, look, you need to leave now! This territory belongs to Don Morito! He won't like it if he sees you messing up his city." he warned her.</p><p>"Aw, are the little suited boys protective of their big playset?" the biker girl mocked.</p><p>"That does it! He tried warning you nicely, now you're gonna get it!" the second boy then threatened.</p><p>"Um, girls…" she then called out.</p><p>The other bikers then rapidly approached the two boys on their motorcycles and bashed them over the head with their baseball bats, knocking them down.</p><p>"I think you two jerk-offs need to be reminded how to talk to a lady." the girl said as she looked down at the two boys.</p><p>"You're no lady!" one of the boys muttered.</p><p>"Okay, girls… let's teach them a lesson." she said with a sinister tone and expression.</p><p>Just then, a limousine pulled up beside where all the action was taking place. Out came pouring an entire collection of additional mafia cronies, all with firearms in hand. After an entire eight of them all got out and stood in line, their ringleader, Don Morito, made his way out of the vehicle.</p><p>"Aren't you the same two idiot guards I fired the other day?" Don asked the two boys on the ground.</p><p>"Er, yeah. We dyed our hair as re-joined your ranks with new names." one of them admitted.</p><p>"No wonder you're so incompetent. Anyway, it appears I have some rebellious outsiders in my territory." Don commented as he turned his attention back to the bikers.</p><p>"Yeah, and what of it?! You are your suited boyfriends don't scare us!" the biker girl aggressively said.</p><p>"Guards!" Don commanded, and they immediately obeyed.</p><p>The eight guards then began shooting at the bikers. While they tried to ride away, some of them were quickly shot in various areas, such as the arm, the shoulder, or the leg. Luckily for them, none of them were hit in areas that would necessarily lead to fatalities. But the pain still hurt nonetheless, and they collapsed to the ground, defeated and lying ready for capture.</p><p>"You dick!" the standing biker girl shouted before sprinting towards Don for a reckless attack attempt.</p><p>"Leave her to me, boys." Don calmly said as he quickly pulled a knife from out of his pocket, and threw it at the girl, hitting her in waist.</p><p>"AGH!" she cried as she fell to the ground.</p><p>She could only lie there in pain as the mafia leader slowly approached her, all while having a smug look on his face.</p><p>"You know? I actually like it when this stuff happens, because it reminds me just how necessary I am." Don said to the girl.</p><p>"*Cough* What are you talking about?!" she asked as she held the part of her that was hit in pain.</p><p>"I am needed. Without me, it would be a free for all around here! A war of all against all! Fortunately, me and my forces are here to put a stop to that; to be a stable and fearsome absolute sovereign. I am the leviathan." Don boasted to his fallen adversary.</p><p>"Where did you get that load of bull from?" she asked as she still groaned in pain, holding her punctured waist.</p><p>"Thomas Hobbes." he confirmed.</p><p>"Oh, here we go again. Another rant where he misuses the ideas of great historical thinkers." one of the guards standing with Don whispered to the guard next to him.</p><p>"Now, I suggest you find yourselves some medical help wherever you can before you all bleed out. As for you two pathetic excuses for guards, get out of my city and never return." Don laid down the law to everyone present.</p><p>The mafia boss and his eight men then got back in the limousine and drove away, leaving several injured girls and two abandoned boys alone to their own devices in the middle of the street. He had done his job, and reminded everyone why he was in charge of Great Lakes City…</p><hr/><p>As her sisters became settled with their new arrangements, Lisa Loud felt the need to catch up with her kindergarten friends as they grew familiar with the camp site on Groove Hill.</p><p>"So, Darcy. Have you been ensuring maintenance of your anicteric well-being?" Lisa asked.</p><p>"Huh?" asked a clueless Darcy.</p><p>"Are you keeping well?" Lisa simplified.</p><p>"Oh, yes. Thanks for asking. I appreciate it." Darcy replied as she gave Lisa a hug.</p><p>"Your affectionate demeanour is a little startling at times, but nonetheless cherished." Lisa admitted.</p><p>"Here, I made this for you." Darcy said as she handed something over to Lisa.</p><p>It was a crayon drawing of Lisa and Darcy playing in a field together; Darcy chasing a butterfly and Lisa studying an insect.</p><p>"It's… erm, sweet." Lisa responded.</p><p>"Thanks!" she said joyfully.</p><p>Just then, David walked over to the pair.</p><p>"Ah, Darcy, why don't you go and play ring around the roses with the others for a while?" David asked the young happy girl.</p><p>"Okay." Darcy said before rushing off to play with the other kindergarten kids.</p><p>"Now, let's get down to business, Lisa. We both know that you and I are probably two of the only minds remaining on this blue marble who actually have any feasible probability of reversing the effects of the so-called 'Big Vanish'. So, we need to begin devising strategies and committing to some hard work." David said.</p><p>"I concur. However, I must point out that we're currently lacking in resources to work with." Lisa replied.</p><p>"Actually, you should prepare to be surprised." David teased, before leading Lisa into his tent.</p><p>"What are we doing in here, David?" Lisa asked after entering.</p><p>David then pulled a remote-control device from out of his lab coat pocket, and pressed the big red button on it. Immediately, the floor began moving from underneath the feet of both young prodigies. They were moving downwards, about half a mile down, before finally reaching their destination…</p><p>Lisa then couldn't believe her eyes… under the ground of the peak of Groove Hill, underneath a camp site of tents populated by four-year-old children… was a secret laboratory.</p><p>"Holy Hamburgers!" Lisa blurted out, as even she couldn't contain the excitement she was overwhelmed with at that moment.</p><p>She looked around and saw what was very appealing to her scientifically-driven eyes and mind. A whole array of beakers, flasks, and other chemical apparatus lying around on the various tables and surfaces scattered across the giant room. Many chemicals, labelled in jars organised together on a shelf unit. Microscopes, an operation table, various construction tools and spare material parts, and so many other components ready for use.</p><p>"But, how?! How did you get all of this down here?!" Lisa asked, completely shocked that David could even have all of this stuff.</p><p>"Let's just conclude that I have certain sources of support that have made all of this possible." he teasingly responded.</p><p>"And what about the power source to get all of this stuff working? Our abilities will be severely restrained without the assistance of the power grid?" Lisa questioned.</p><p>"That's the best part." David responded as he reached into a cupboard at the corner of the room.</p><p>He opened the doors to the cupboard to reveal many containers of petroleum, all stored below a self-made electric generator that was powering everything in the lab as the two children spoke.</p><p>"Wow. I knew you were intellectually bright, David, but this is just blowing me away." Lisa admitted in admiration.</p><p>"Coming from you, that is a compliment." David said.</p><p>"Well, it appears we have everything we need." Lisa concluded.</p><hr/><p>But as Lisa received a tour of the secret underground lab by David, Luan, Lily and the twins were getting to know the rather young company that they had around them. Luan, despite being the oldest Loud sibling remaining, was a kiddie kid at heart. As such, she relished the chance to let her cheery side shine amongst them…</p><p>"Well, kids. It looks like the world is showing some kind of vanish-aggressive behaviour. Now things seem to be all about the call of the child." she said aloud to the surrounding four-year olds.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHA!" all the kids laughed in response to her puns.</p><p>"Oh, you guys liked those, did you? Good, then you'll love these jokes. I miss my parents, though not for everything. My dad farted in an elevator once, it was wrong on so many levels!" she carried on with her fittingly juvenile humour.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHA!" they continued to laugh.</p><p>"Ooh, ooh, here's another one. My sister Lisa is looking into science stuff with your friend David right now. Well, the other day I tried to make a chemistry joke, but got no reaction!" she finished.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHA!" they could only continue to laugh as they found her gags funny.</p><p>Luan was really happy to see the little souls in front of her experience such joy for the first time in a while. It was the first time she had truly been happy and joyful in weeks. Luan's passion for comedy had dwindled somewhat as a result of 'The Big Vanish' and the hostile world it created. Furthermore, her family wasn't really into her puns. These impressionable and easily amused youngsters, however, were eating her jokes up like candy.</p><p>"Thank you, thank you! I'm here all week!" she said as she played to the crowd, embracing every second of the love.</p><p>Lana, holding Lily, and Lola were watching Luan's little comedic performance to the kindergarten kids from the side…</p><p>"Wow, they actually find this stuff funny?" Lola cynically asked.</p><p>"Eh, I guess they're just a little young. They don't have a better taste in comedy yet." Lana said.</p><p>"That sounds about right. They're only young, innocent, naive little four year olds, after all." Lola stated.</p><p>"Yep, not like us mature six year olds at all." Lana said sarcastically as she realised how ridiculous they were sounding.</p><p>"Eh, I guess there's no harm in letting her have her fun. She hasn't been herself in a while, anyway." Lola commented.</p><p>"Yeah, I think the same goes for all of us. I mean, everyone's parents disappearing on them and all of us having to fight each other for leftovers kinda messes with a person's head." Lana said.</p><p>"I'm just saying, it's nice, that's all. Even if it can't last. Even those little brats won't keep entertained by her lame puns for long." Lola said.</p><p>"Full of nice compliments, aren't you, Lols?" Lana asked sarcastically.</p><p>As Lola walked off slightly irritated with her sister's sarcasm, and Lana followed with the baby in her hands, Luan continued to dish out some childish comedy to win over the new populace she and her sisters were now living with.</p><hr/><p>As the day drew to a close, Lincoln's friends concluded their first training session. While exhausted, they had finally become a little more used to using a sword for battle.</p><p>"I'm done, guys. Wanna hit the coffins?" Rusty asked the others.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm beat." Liam said.</p><p>"That's saying something, since you're used to long farm days." Zach replied.</p><p>"Hey, let me tell ya something. I've spent entire days moving stacks of hay across the fields by hand, and it doesn't even compare to this!" Liam insisted.</p><p>"It wasn't too bad. My sister Lynn has made me do way worse stuff than this." Lincoln said.</p><p>"Yeah, Lynn was really something special. Where do you think she's got to?" Clyde asked.</p><p>"I don't know, buddy. I wish I did. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms." he revealed.</p><p>"How do you mean?" Stella questioned.</p><p>"We had a fight just before we fled the house from Hank and Hawk about who was left leader after Luna disappeared. We sort of made up, but not properly." Lincoln explained.</p><p>"Bummer." Rusty said.</p><p>"And last time I saw her, my sisters and I basically ran and left her to take a beating. I mean, I'm sure she lived through it, but still." he ashamedly admitted.</p><p>"Well, if you had to run for your lives…" Clyde tried to defensively put it.</p><p>"Still, I'm sure all my sisters, wherever they've got to, are safe and sound. They're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. I mean, look at Lucy. I think I'm the one who needs to catch up in that respect." Lincoln said.</p><p>"You will. We all will." Stella told him.</p><p>"She's right. Lucy will make sure we're capable to holding off any threat, undead or otherwise." Clyde said.</p><p>"Thanks, guys. You're the best." Lincoln said in appreciation for his friends and their encouragement.</p><p>But they were going to need more than friendship if they were going to survive what was yet to come. Lincoln knew that, and was prepared to step up as times got even tougher…</p>
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